Vivid Scarlet and Electric Blue
by Hannahsthesia
Summary: Harry returns to Hogwarts the same as he's always been. Draco returns to Hogwarts with electric blue hair and quietness. As roommates, they lead separate lives- until Harry becomes interested in Draco's lonely world. Cover image by Silouxa on Deviantart. **I do not own Harry Potter**


After the war, Lucius Malfoy and the rest of the Death Eaters went to jail- except for Draco Malfoy. Considering he never killed anyone and was practically forced into being a Death Eater, he was innocent in the eyes of the reluctant jury.

After the war, all the people who had been in seventh year with Harry had been asked to return for an eighth year to make up what had been missed in their seventh year.

After the war, people started to scorn others who were friends or family with former Death Eaters.

After the war, Narcissa Malfoy hung herself.

After the war, Draco Malfoy returned to Hogwarts filled with dread. He knew of the prejudice people still held, and with his Dark Mark still quite prominent, he was afraid. Draco Malfoy was afraid. More so than he had ever been. He was afraid that everything he knew would happen at Hogwarts.

All the Hogwarts students were standing on Platform 9¾. Some filled with anticipation and excitement. Others filled with fear and melancholy. A few didn't feel anything.

Harry Potter was excited. He would be back home with his favorite professors. McGonagall as Headmistress, Slughorn as Potions, Remus as Defense Against the Dark Arts, Flitwick teaching Charms, and Hagrid as Care of Magical Creatures. Ron and Hermione would be in all his classes, and Harry couldn't be more ecstatic. Everything he needed was all in his trunks. Hedwig was in her cage and the rest of his luggage was in a cart. He and his friends were waiting for the train, as they had arrived early so they could reminisce (or so Hermione said).

The train arrived and more people seemed to enter the platform, as if they could sense when the train had pulled in. Everyone had to wait twenty minutes so the conductor could open all the compartments and sweep the floors one last time, and the lady with the sweets cart could prepare for the oncoming waves of students with a sweet tooth or two.

Harry could see many different people of many different ages. He saw first years, some nervous and others excited. He saw seventh years, bored (however he could still see a gleam of thrill in their eyes). Harry noticed that there were very few people from his year. _Seems some thought their seventh year was educational enough_ , he mused.

Dean Thomas noticed Harry and made his way over, waving. "Hey, Harry. How was your summer?" Dean asked. Harry responded with, "It was pretty good. I got my own flat in Hogsmeade and I just spent the summer there. Oh, and I got a cat. She's a Sphinx and I named her Luna." Dean grinned and said something about finding Seamus.

Finally, the students were allowed to board the Hogwarts Express. Harry, Ron, and Hermione stepped onto the train and found a compartment. After they got settled, Luna knocked on the door with Dean and Seamus in tow. "Mind if we join you?" she asked, still full of that dreamy aura. "Not at all," Hermione replied, gesturing for Ron and Harry to scoot over so there would be more room.

Then came another knock. Neville was holding his luggage, his toad in tow. "Merlin, Neville. How is Trevor still alive?" Ron asked, incredulous. Neville answered, "Dean charmed him so that there's basically a force field around him. And then Hermione put another charm on him that made it so I could never lose him." Both Hermione and Dean grinned, looking proud.

Right then, Harry saw something he never thought he would see. Draco Malfoy hurried past their compartment, head down. His hair was electric blue yet no one noticed him. His usual cronies were seemingly missing, to Harry's surprise.

"What do you think, Harry?" Seamus asked. Harry shook himself out of his thoughts and asked, "What?" Ron looked at him, unimpressed. "Blimey, you haven't been listening, have you?" Harry had the grace to look sheepish and shrugged. "Nevermind," Seamus sighed. After he said that, Dean leaned toward him, and Seamus leaned back on his chest. Harry didn't miss it, and pointed it out to Ron, who grinned in response.

Then Harry's thoughts returned to Draco. He had so many questions. Why was his hair blue? Why did nobody notice him? More importantly, why was he alone? Where were his friends (Pansy and Blaise, was it?)?

Hours later, with Hermione having charmed Neville to rid him of his motion sickness, they arrived at Hogwarts. Excitement filled the air. First years, as usual, went with Hagrid. McGonagall was standing off to the side, yelling for all eighth years to follow her. Luna raised her eyebrows, but said nothing.

McGonagall led them into the castle, hurrying to rush past the first years. They went across the castle to get to a special dungeon where they would reside for the year. "Rooming arrangements will be on special boards on the doors of the rooms," McGonagall said, her accent sounding comforting to Harry. "The houses have been grouped together to improve inter-house relations. Unfortunately to those who will be unhappy, rooming arrangements are final."

Harry looked at all the boards until he found his name. He was grouped with Draco Malfoy. _Speak of the devil_ , he thought as his new roommate stood by the door. He had nubs in his ears that were connected to a small box through a cord. Harry assumed it was a Muggle thing.

Then it hit Harry. This was it. This was the last year he would ever be in Hogwarts. It would be the last time he would get to see first years being sorted. This would be the last year he would ever feel this excitement.

A wave of sadness washed over him as he walked into his dorm. It was of average size, with two beds on opposite sides of the room. A nightstand was on each bedside, and bookshelves lined the back wall. Two wardrobes were in opposite corners on the wall with the door.

The room was freezing, however, Draco didn't seem to be affected by the chill. Years of coldness in the dungeons must have made him resistant to the frigidness of the new room. Draco pulled the nubs out of his ears when he stepped into the room, and put the box on the nightstand. He was oddly quiet, Harry observed. No crude remarks, no insults, not even a whispered 'hello.'

Draco- no, Malfoy, Harry reminded himself, sat on the bed. Abruptly, he got up and began to unpack, though Harry noted the small about of luggage he had. Then Malfoy stared at him, head cocked. After several minutes of uncomfortableness, Harry looked away and began to unpack as well.

A knock sounded throughout the room. Harry stood and answered the door. "Hello, Harry!" Said boy gasped and hugged the professor. "Remus!" Both grinned and Malfoy looked away from the sickly sweetness. "Minerva sent me down here to tell you that it's time for the sorting ceremony." Harry said his thanks and looked back at the blue-haired boy.

Malfoy gave a weak smile and stood. Both the boys went into the Great Hall to watch the ceremony. Harry immediately noticed his friends and sat down, though he kept his eyes on Malfoy. The Slytherin sat at an empty part of the table, producing a book Harry hadn't known he'd brought. The rest of the Slytherins acted as if he had the plague and shunned him.

Malfoy pretended he didn't see.

Note: 1,254 words. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy. Apologies for any mistakes, please comment so I can fix them.


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